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dancinghorseThoughts running through my head today, via work avoidance but also perhaps useful in some contexts:
[a] Prospecting through various writers' sites, came across a truly wonderful pair of sites on fantasy and writing--highly recommended for the mentees and others who are just getting started on the road of writing seriously: The Turkey City Lexicon of tropes and cliches, and a wonderful set of "rants" about fantasy.
Though one of the "rants" in an otherwise very useful note about horses in battle perpetrates the usual Anglo-American misconception about stallions as wild, sex-crazed, uncontrollable monsters whom no sane character should be allowed to ride. Er, no. Please. Tell that to the Spanish Riding School, the entire Iberian equestrian world, and most of the Middle East, as well as the American Arabian community where stallions are still rather the rule than the exception. Really. Stallions are horses, too. There are reasons not to allow your basic idiot near one, but YBI shouldn't go near anything but a sofabed on legs, and even that should be done with caution. In historical contexts, mounted warriors of all eras have tended to prefer stallions--notably (in terms of models for modern fantasy novels) ancient Greek cavalry and medieval knights. The exception would be the raiders of the Arabian desert, who found stallions too noisy and preferred mares. Note, noisy, not wild or uncontrollable or sex-crazed. They talk too damn much--not good when you're trying to sneak up on the enemy camp.
And really, when it comes to sex-crazed, nothing beats a mare in standing heat, that follicle is about to pop and by Epona she wants that galoot over there to Do Something About It. He can be tremendously strong and aggressive if improperly handled (after all he weighs half a ton and it's solid muscle powered by testosterone)--but a well-socialized stallion is as henpecked as they get. He only turns up the heat when the mare says he can. If she says no, he may find himself minus the optional equipment. It's so placed that she can literally kick it off him. She may also break one or more or of his legs.
No, in the equine world, the mare rules. And in the world of human equestrian warfare, the stallion is usually default mode. Mounting your knight on a mare or gelding is historically inaccurate, unless he's a desert warrior, in which case the gelding isn't in it, it's mares all the way.
In short--you may mount your hero on a stallion, there's plenty of historical support for this, but do please get the rest of the details right (horses are not motorcycles).
[b] Today's tragic and heartbreaking Preakness. I feel deeply for Barbaro's owners, trainer, and jockey, all of whom clearly love him, and I hope he can be saved. That his career is over, I think is pretty much a given.
That being said, there is one issue that will not be addressed or even mentioned, and that is, that this horse is the same age as Gaudia. Almost to the day. Gaudia has not been ridden yet, let alone worked or trained intensively, and will not be ridden for at least another year. Probably longer. Admittedly she comes from a very slow-maturing breed, but TBs are not mature until ages 4-6; they get most of their height by age 3, usually, but if you look at the mature mares and stallions, you can see how very immature those racing 3yos are. They are babies, and baby horses simply are not as strong as mature horses. This kind of leg fracture is something every racing trainer is aware of, dreads, and does his utmost to keep the horse from getting--and in Barbaro's case, I can see the knowledge of the eventer backing up the racing trainer, giving him a light schedule and taking it as easy as possible on him. Tragically, it didn't work--the irony is brutal and grievous and heart-wrenching. But no one is going to mention the fundamental flaw in the system, which made this happen with the best will and care in the world.
I wish our racing world did not back them as yearlings, put them in intensive training at 2, and expect them to retire to zillion-dollar stud careers at 3. I wish they would give them one more year at least to grow up--two would be better; consider the English steelplechasers who start as 4yos and will still be racing sound over those grueling courses in their teens.
Behind all the pageantry and mythology is raw naked greed. Get them in, get them out, make as much money as possible in as little time as possible. It's the American ethos, instant gratification all the way. Now a wonderful horse has paid for it, and the people who love him, who have bought into the system and apparently don't even think to question it, are suffering because even their efforts weren't enough to keep him from breaking down.
And btw, a Lipp in that position? Broken down even faster. They're only long-lived and persistently sound if you are adamant about starting them no younger than 4 and taking the first few years slow and easy. The serious work doesn't start until 8 or 10, and then you've got a horse who is sound into his twenties. Start him like a TB and he's a pasture ornament by the time he's 4.
Pandora is 19. Her mileage is extremely low, she spent 9 years in a pasture, and she's got the look and feel of a horse half her age. She wasn't started until she was 5 or 6--as big as she is, they gave her extra time to grow into herself. I do wish I'd got hold of her 10 years ago, but as it is, I have a wonderful riding horse at an age when most horses are too old to do much with.
Hence, my deep ambivalence about this spring round of races; on the one hand I enjoy the pageantry, admire the horses, follow the stories, but on the other, the breeder and trainer in me is frankly appalled at what this whole huge vastly lucrative sector of the horse world is doing to its babies. It's the biggest sector, too, and the biggest money, with the most influence. The rest of us are distinctly in the minority. Which is why this particular tragedy will get a lot of press, a lot of tears, and a lot of sympathy--but it won't do one single damned thing to change the system. Remember Ruffian? Major grief, major sorrow, major mythmaking...but no changes. At all. There's too much money in the status quo. Simple as that.
[a] Prospecting through various writers' sites, came across a truly wonderful pair of sites on fantasy and writing--highly recommended for the mentees and others who are just getting started on the road of writing seriously: The Turkey City Lexicon of tropes and cliches, and a wonderful set of "rants" about fantasy.
Though one of the "rants" in an otherwise very useful note about horses in battle perpetrates the usual Anglo-American misconception about stallions as wild, sex-crazed, uncontrollable monsters whom no sane character should be allowed to ride. Er, no. Please. Tell that to the Spanish Riding School, the entire Iberian equestrian world, and most of the Middle East, as well as the American Arabian community where stallions are still rather the rule than the exception. Really. Stallions are horses, too. There are reasons not to allow your basic idiot near one, but YBI shouldn't go near anything but a sofabed on legs, and even that should be done with caution. In historical contexts, mounted warriors of all eras have tended to prefer stallions--notably (in terms of models for modern fantasy novels) ancient Greek cavalry and medieval knights. The exception would be the raiders of the Arabian desert, who found stallions too noisy and preferred mares. Note, noisy, not wild or uncontrollable or sex-crazed. They talk too damn much--not good when you're trying to sneak up on the enemy camp.
And really, when it comes to sex-crazed, nothing beats a mare in standing heat, that follicle is about to pop and by Epona she wants that galoot over there to Do Something About It. He can be tremendously strong and aggressive if improperly handled (after all he weighs half a ton and it's solid muscle powered by testosterone)--but a well-socialized stallion is as henpecked as they get. He only turns up the heat when the mare says he can. If she says no, he may find himself minus the optional equipment. It's so placed that she can literally kick it off him. She may also break one or more or of his legs.
No, in the equine world, the mare rules. And in the world of human equestrian warfare, the stallion is usually default mode. Mounting your knight on a mare or gelding is historically inaccurate, unless he's a desert warrior, in which case the gelding isn't in it, it's mares all the way.
In short--you may mount your hero on a stallion, there's plenty of historical support for this, but do please get the rest of the details right (horses are not motorcycles).
[b] Today's tragic and heartbreaking Preakness. I feel deeply for Barbaro's owners, trainer, and jockey, all of whom clearly love him, and I hope he can be saved. That his career is over, I think is pretty much a given.
That being said, there is one issue that will not be addressed or even mentioned, and that is, that this horse is the same age as Gaudia. Almost to the day. Gaudia has not been ridden yet, let alone worked or trained intensively, and will not be ridden for at least another year. Probably longer. Admittedly she comes from a very slow-maturing breed, but TBs are not mature until ages 4-6; they get most of their height by age 3, usually, but if you look at the mature mares and stallions, you can see how very immature those racing 3yos are. They are babies, and baby horses simply are not as strong as mature horses. This kind of leg fracture is something every racing trainer is aware of, dreads, and does his utmost to keep the horse from getting--and in Barbaro's case, I can see the knowledge of the eventer backing up the racing trainer, giving him a light schedule and taking it as easy as possible on him. Tragically, it didn't work--the irony is brutal and grievous and heart-wrenching. But no one is going to mention the fundamental flaw in the system, which made this happen with the best will and care in the world.
I wish our racing world did not back them as yearlings, put them in intensive training at 2, and expect them to retire to zillion-dollar stud careers at 3. I wish they would give them one more year at least to grow up--two would be better; consider the English steelplechasers who start as 4yos and will still be racing sound over those grueling courses in their teens.
Behind all the pageantry and mythology is raw naked greed. Get them in, get them out, make as much money as possible in as little time as possible. It's the American ethos, instant gratification all the way. Now a wonderful horse has paid for it, and the people who love him, who have bought into the system and apparently don't even think to question it, are suffering because even their efforts weren't enough to keep him from breaking down.
And btw, a Lipp in that position? Broken down even faster. They're only long-lived and persistently sound if you are adamant about starting them no younger than 4 and taking the first few years slow and easy. The serious work doesn't start until 8 or 10, and then you've got a horse who is sound into his twenties. Start him like a TB and he's a pasture ornament by the time he's 4.
Pandora is 19. Her mileage is extremely low, she spent 9 years in a pasture, and she's got the look and feel of a horse half her age. She wasn't started until she was 5 or 6--as big as she is, they gave her extra time to grow into herself. I do wish I'd got hold of her 10 years ago, but as it is, I have a wonderful riding horse at an age when most horses are too old to do much with.
Hence, my deep ambivalence about this spring round of races; on the one hand I enjoy the pageantry, admire the horses, follow the stories, but on the other, the breeder and trainer in me is frankly appalled at what this whole huge vastly lucrative sector of the horse world is doing to its babies. It's the biggest sector, too, and the biggest money, with the most influence. The rest of us are distinctly in the minority. Which is why this particular tragedy will get a lot of press, a lot of tears, and a lot of sympathy--but it won't do one single damned thing to change the system. Remember Ruffian? Major grief, major sorrow, major mythmaking...but no changes. At all. There's too much money in the status quo. Simple as that.
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. . . because I can't resist putting in my two cents, too!
Date: 2006-05-21 08:13 am (UTC)I'd add, however, that the same sort of abuse (albeit more subtle and slow-motion) permates the entire horse "business." I spent several years at a Quarter Horse barn, where 2-year-olds were being rushed into halter work and showing. No wonder they have to DRUG the horses to get them to APPEAR to be relaxed (the initial goal of Western Pleasure). An angry or stressed horse wrings his tail or neck or show some other physical sign. So they inject the tails, making them hang limp--not because the horse is calm, however! The trainer there left horses standing interminably tied in the sun--to "teach patience." (It taught sullenness and passive resistence). Others, in several disciplines, Western to English, tie a horse's head to the side and leave the poor animal that way in a stall for hours to "teah" the horse go "give"--but where there is no release, there is no opportunity to learn to give! They wash horses in freezing water at 5 AM at the Saddlebred show rather than groom them and relax them. It's all about shortcuts for the humans and unacknowledged misery for the horses.
This is why I can no longer watch racing and why I no longer volunteer at, or attend, horse shows. It made me want to kill the people! Instead, I just work quietly with my John Lyons trainer (but any GOOD trainer is fine, and there are some psuedo-Lyons people out there who are worse than many traditionalists). I get to watch two very happy, relaxed horses gradually build up their muscles and develop confidence and trust. The youngster--the Lipp--has never known another owner/trainer, and he never will. It is sheer joy to see him move, he has a perfect "spook in place", and he is safe for anyone to be around. He should be sound into his late 20's, because we're doing at age 9 the work some horses are forced into at age 3 or 4. (I routinely see ads at the tack store offering free "pasture companions" aged 9--show horses who have been crippled to the point that they will live the rest of their lives in pain.) The 19-year-old Quarter Horse was started, as usual, too early, but had the good fortune not to be a superstar at halter and ended up a pasture potato who was supposed to become an occasional ride for the non-horsey boyfriend of a local rider. I bought him at 12 and "underused" him (i.e., enjoyed his pleasant walk and trot for about 20 minutes on the weekends and every third day or so during summer)--so, even with a founder from the halter years, he's still pain-free and functional, and now the trainer is working him gently to be a better, calmer weekend pet for me and for her significant other. Of course, one is unlikely to put all this time and money into a horse for so little mileage if one's goal is blue ribbons rather than keeping the horse sane, sound, and happy. But I'm lucky--I get my greatest joy just hanging out with these guys, which keeps me sane, sound, and happy!
And now I must apologize for hijacking your comments thread, when a more courteous person would have posted an entry in her own LJ and linked to it here! (So . . . sorry!)
Re: . . . because I can't resist putting in my two cents, too!
Date: 2006-05-21 12:03 pm (UTC)Dressage isn't immune, either, even with the 36mo minimum requirement for showing. Don't Even Get Me Started about the Rollkur and what it does to horses. There is so much power in the hands of its advocates the the FEI has been about as effective as the current Congress--with about the same level of rolling over and showing the belly.
I ride classically. I follow the SRS. Their record speaks for itself. Not one but two 26yo horses made the US tour last year, were sound and glossy and beautiful, and the soloist performed to a level that you will never see in competition, with no discernible effort. I could see his age a bit--his back wasn't as round as it used to be--but he was still beautiful and enthralling to watch.
The horses don't lie.
Re: . . . because I can't resist putting in my two cents, too!
Date: 2006-05-21 09:42 pm (UTC)Re: . . . because I can't resist putting in my two cents, too!
Date: 2006-05-28 05:44 am (UTC)We'll get to it, when she is ready ;).
Re: . . . because I can't resist putting in my two cents, too!
Date: 2006-05-28 10:01 pm (UTC)Re: . . . because I can't resist putting in my two cents, too!
Date: 2006-05-21 10:54 pm (UTC)And one of the reasons I love reading your blog is that you do, indeed, ride classically--not some pitiful effort to fake you way through. And you are helping rest of us ush and other candidates. More later when Im off pain med and can think coherently.